Louder
by aozora ekusutashii
Summary: They're worlds apart, but have one thing in common: Their love for the piano and sensibility. Will this love bring them close and let their hearts beat louder than their heads? ChoutarouxOC. In-Progress. Reviews are appreciated.
1. Feel That Rhythm

**Name of Story:** Louder

**Written By:** Iced Hearts

**Pairing(s) & Character(s):** ChoutarouxOC. There's a good deal of Hyotei tennis regulars thrown in for good measure.

**Genre & Rating:** Romance/Friendship. Rated T for minor swearing.

**Full Summary:** He's tall, sensitive and respectful to all. She's vertically-challenged and feisty. They're worlds apart, but have one thing in common: Their love for the piano and sensibility. Will this love bring them close and let their hearts beat louder than their heads? ChoutarouxOC.

**Official Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis © Konomi Takeshi; Tsutano Hikari © Iced Hearts.

**Author's Notes:** Just so you know, this isn't my first story (more info on my profile). You may find this chapter a tad boring, since it's just an introduction. I didn't want to just throw the OC in there and have "Love At First Sight" with Ootori, since that is a sure sign of a Mary-Sue. Hence, there isn't much interaction between Ootori and my OC in this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1 – <strong>**Feel That Rhythm**

"Oshitari-sama, the way you play tennis is like, _sugoi_!"

"Atobe-sama, we love you!"

"Ootori-sama is _soooo_ kawaii!"

Tsutano Hikari twitched in mild annoyance as her ultra-sensitive hearing picked up the loud shrieks of tennis regulars' fangirls from where she was – the front gates of Hyotei Academy.

_Why are all fangirls blessed with iron lungs?_ She wondered, unconsciously tightening her grip on the straps of her dark-blue backpack as she walked.

The hallways were filled with blissful silence, if you don't count the _pitter-patter_ of Tsutano's brown shoes and the distant _pok-pok-pok_ of tennis balls from the courts. The lack of students barely perturbed her, since she came to school at least an hour before school began.

She slowed in her tracks as she approached an oak door labelled "MUSIC ROOM" in large, cursive letters on a gold plaque. She gently turned the equally-golden doorknob and entered the room, the automatic lights and fans switching on upon doing so.

Her dark-blue eyes slowly skimmed across the Music Room. Despite its impressive size, it was almost bare, since the music students brought their instruments around everywhere, for fear of theft (as well as to show-off to peers). Standing proudly in its corner next to the mini-stage was the Grand Piano, and she knew that there were a few sets of drums somewhere backstage.

Tsutano set her backpack against the wall and bent down to retrieve a music sheet, before stalking over towards the sleek, black piano. Perched on the cushioned seat, she set the music sheet down carefully, and began to play.

* * *

><p>In Court C, Oshitari Yuushi was in the middle of breaking up that morning's Argument Number 2 between his doubles partner Mukahi Gakuto and his teammate Hiyoshi Wakashi when he heard the distant sound of music.<p>

He paused. "Hm… Gakuto, Hiyoshi, do you hear that?"

The two boys temporarily stopped fighting for a moment, blinking at his sudden question. They stayed that way, quietly straining their ears.

"…I don't hear nothing." Mukahi shrugged.

Hiyoshi rolled his eyes, muttering, "It's _'I don't hear anything'_, baka. Did you fail both your Japanese and your hearing test or something?"

"Why you –" And just like that, Argument Number 3 broke out.

However, this time Oshitari did not attempt to stop them. Over the loud bickering of his teammates, the blunette picked out the music, tilting his head ever so slightly, before deducing that someone playing the piano… and that someone was pretty good at it, too.

Meanwhile, in Court B, Ootori Choutarou's sensitive ears picked up on the music. His already-round brown eyes grew rounder. "Shishido-sempai, listen!"

"…what?" Shishido Ryou was confused and somewhat disorientated by Ootori's sudden exclamation. He remained silent for a second. "Are you talking about that weird sound?"

"Shishido-sempai!" Ootori cried, frowning slightly at the blue-capped boy. "It's the piano!"

"…oh yeah… I kinda forgot…"

The taller boy was horrified. "How could you forget the piano, Shishido-sempai?"

"Ne, you _know_ I'm not a talented musician like you…"

"S-Shishido-sempai!" Ootori blushed under his doubles partner's praise.

In Court A, Atobe Keigo's tennis racket paused mid-swing. "…Kabaji, do you hear that?"

"…usu." Kabaji Munehiro replied as he fixed up his untied shoelace.

"It's the piano, isn't it? Some peasant's playing Ore-sama's favourite musical instrument."

"Usu."

He spared a thoughtful glance at the Music Room, making the fangirls watching him swoon. "The pianist is fairly good, ne Kabaji? Even though he or she is obviously not up to Ore-sama's standards."

"Usu."

"We should continue practicing our swings, ne Kabaji?"

"…usu."

Under a sakura tree near the courts, Akutagawa Jirou shifted in his sleep, muttering incoherently. The music floated past his ears, soothing him, leaving him with a peaceful smile on his face.

* * *

><p>Tsutano sneezed several times in a row while playing. <em>Hm… The Music Room must be really dusty…<em>

The piece she played was a fast-paced, dizzying joyride of sound. It was a beautiful, winding, whirling piece of music about life.

The girl stopped abruptly at the last bar she had scribbled on her music sheet. She hummed a few bars in continuation to the piece, then paused. She hummed the same tune once again, before trying it out on the piano. _That could work…_ She dug out a pencil out from her skirt pocket and scribbled a few messy notes on her music sheet.

* * *

><p>"…eh? The music stopped…" Ootori murmured under his breath.<p>

"Did you say something, Choutarou?" Shishido asked, adjusting the blue cap on his head.

The silver-haired boy shook his head. "It's nothing, Shishido-sempai…"

"Oi! Could the two of you stop yapping and get on with the game already?" Mukahi shouted from the other side of Court B, glaring at them.

"Now, now, Gakuto…" Oshitari sounded disapproving. "You should learn to be more patient, ne? It's just a practice match, after all."

The redhead rolled his eyes. "Whatever. We have this one in the bag, anyway." He smirked.

Shishido overheard him and scowled. "Let's see about that…"

"Best of one set match, Oshitari-Mukahi pair service play!" An unnamed 2nd year non-regular acting as the umpire called out to them.

…

A while later, the four tennis regulars found themselves seated heavily on a long bench with perspiration sliding off their bodies, totally drained out.

"You were _saying_, Gakuto?" Oshitari drawled, his eyes flashing as he cleaned his round spectacles with his shirt.

His doubles partner scowled, using a small fluffy towel to dab at his sweat. "Alright, alright! I _did_ get a _little_ cocky –"

"But we still beat you, 7-5. "Shishido interrupted, grinning triumphantly. "_'You had this one in the bag'_, ne?"

"..._whatever_!"

* * *

><p>"…and it's done…" Tsutano muttered to herself, a tiny smirk tugging on her lips as she stared at her music sheet. A thoughtful look flittered across her face, before her expression cleared and the words <em>"Feel That Rhythm"<em> was scrawled in large lettering at the top of the piece.

_Riiiiiing…_

She looked up, albeit startled. _One hour's already up?_ A quick glance at her watch confirmed it. _Well, that was certainly fast… And I wanted to try out the whole thing, too…_ She sighed.

With her backpack slung over her shoulders and her music sheet tucked safely inside it, the girl hurried out of the Music Room and headed towards the direction of Classroom 2F.

* * *

><p>"Ohaiyo, Hiyoshi-kun." Tsutano's voice sounded flat as she slid into her chair next to her seatmate.<p>

Hiyoshi, with his freshly-showered hair stuck to his forehead and covering his eyes, glanced over. Catching sight of the brown tie, he knew who it was instantly. "Oh… Ohaiyo, Tsutano-chan."

She dropped her backpack onto the table and rested her head on it lightly. "How was tennis practice this morning?"

"It was… alright, I guess." He shrugged carelessly, brushing his wet bangs away from his eyes. "At least Atobe-buchou didn't take out his PMS-induced mood swings on us and make us run extra laps today. I think he didn't wanna look bad in front of his squealing fangirls just now."

"…ah." The girl hid a smirk at his attempted joke, before re-directing her attention to the front. Their teacher, Natsumi-sensei, had just arrived, and was starting on their lesson on Quadratic Equations.

Having sat next to each other since they were 1st-years, Hiyoshi and Tsutano were somewhat comfortable chatting together. Despite his rather sullen attitude towards anything below his standards, he was always nice to her, and he appreciated silence as much as she did. That last point was probably his best quality, as many other students talked so much that her ears hurt.

Fifteen minutes into the lesson, Tsutano gave up on listening to Natsumi-sensei and tuned her out, tugging at her long fringe in boredom. _At least Maths is still tolerable…_ She mused. _But Biology on the other hand…_ She shuddered slightly at the thought of that dreaded subject. _If they make me dissect a frog _one more time_, I'm gonna throw all the dissecting equipment out of the window!_

She tuned herself back to reality when she felt a poke on her arm. "…hn?"

"Have you finally succumbed to Atobe-buchou's charms and was thinking about him?" Hiyoshi asked, amused.

Tsutano's face was still blank, but her dark-blue eyes showed just how horrified she felt about that question. "If that ever happens, slap me in the face. _Please_." She deadpanned. "I do _not_ want that pompous ass anywhere _near_ me, let alone get stuck in my _brain_."

Hiyoshi was even more amused now. "Surely you know that I don't hit girls, Tsutano-chan, no matter how boyish they act most of the time. And I swear that you're one of the very, _very_ scarce few students who call Atobe-buchou an _ass_… other than Oshitari-sempai, Mukahi-sempai and Shishido-sempai, of course." He smirked.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Oh _please_. As if I would fall for an ego-fied baka like _him_. I seriously doubt the Hyotei student body's taste in guys sometimes." She wrinkled her nose in distain.

Her seatmate's smirk grew wider, and was about to reply when their Mathematics teacher cut him off. "Hiyoshi-kun, Tsutano-chan! _What_, may I ask, is so amusing about today's lesson?" Her shrill voice grated into Tsutano's ears, making her wince. Hiyoshi was expressionless.

"Nothing, Natsumi-sensei." They chorused.

Natsumi-sensei folded her arms. "If that's the case, what's the answer to this Quadratic Equation, Tsutano-chan?"

The previously-mentioned girl eyed the question on the whiteboard warily.

_x (2x+5) – 3 (_2x_+5) = 0_

"…the answer is _x = -2.5_ or _x = 3_." She muttered after a moment of terse silence. _Thank goodness for Eiji-nii's Maths tutoring…_

Natsumi-sensei was vaguely surprised. Tsutano had never been good at Maths, and she often made careless mistakes in calculation. "Well… That's correct. No more talking from the both of you, understand?"

The two seatmates exchanged glances, but sighed. "Hai, sensei."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Hope you enjoyed the story so far. Let me know if you find any mistakes, or if you find anyone OOC or if Hikari has some traits that need to be fixed.

In case anyone's wondering about the OC's name… In Japanese, Tsutano means "Ivy Field", while "Hikari" means "Light".

Reviews are welcome. If you don't know any of the Japanese honorifics or phrases I've used, just ask me in a review. Thank you.

.:Iced Hearts:.

_Published: 7th August 2011._

_Edited: 8th August 2011._


	2. A Minor Mistake

**Author's Notes:** There is some interaction between Atobe and Hikari, but there will be no romance between the two. It's mostly childish bickering. Interaction between Hikari and Ootori will come later.

**Thank you for the:**

**- Review(s):** Bubbles -Anonymous- (Thank you for pointing out the mistake. I've already amended it :) )

**- Alert****(s):** Narunette, FrauleinRose, MinayNguyen, Woopa, wordcrafter

**- Fave****(s):** chubby-chicken, MinayNguyen, Neo Nitro, shinigamigymnast13

_It'll be appreciated if those who fave and alert Louder leave a review as well. I always review a story I fave, even if the author is no longer active or into that fandom anymore. Thank you.~_

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

The Mathematics teacher folded her arms. "If that's the case, what's the answer to this Quadratic Equation, Tsutano-chan?"

Previously-mentioned girl eyed the question on the whiteboard warily.

_x (2x+5) – 3 (_2x_+5) = 0_

"…the answer is _x = -2.5_ or _x = 3_." She muttered after a moment of terse silence. _Thank goodness for Eiji-nii's Maths tutoring…_

Natsumi-sensei was vaguely surprised. Tsutano had never been good at Maths, and she often made careless mistakes in calculation. "Well… That's correct. No more talking from the both of you, understand?"

The two seatmates exchanged glances, but sighed. "Hai, sensei."

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2 –<strong>** A Minor Mistake**

Hyotei Academy was renowned for many things: Its tennis team, the well-equipped facilities, huge classrooms, the latest technology in Computer Labs, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Despite this, Hyotei's rather spacious rooftop garden was pretty much unknown to most students and teachers alike. When Tsutano was a 1st year, while searching for a place where she could eat or just be alone in peace, she had stumbled upon the tranquil rooftop garden, and was immediately drawn to it.

_Lunch-break… Always the best part of the day..._ Her lips twitched slightly into a barely detectable smirk as she gazed around the familiar lush greenery around her.

She stalked over to a large green hammock tied between two shady trees, carefully sat on it and placed her backpack beside her, before taking out her pearl-white bento box. She silently thanked her neighbour's sister for the meal before tucking in.

The girl ate in silence for a few moments before the hand-phone in her skirt pocket began to vibrate.

"…moshi moshi?" She answered through a mouthful of onigiri, not caring that it wasn't a lady-like thing to do.

"_Nya, Kari-chaaaaan!_" The hand-phone was immediately pulled away from her ears as the cheerful voice rang out, nearly damaging her eardrums in the process.

"Itai!" She yelped. "Eiji-nii." She growled dangerously into the black contraption. "You _know_ I have sensitive hearing."

"_H-heh… Mengo, Kari-chan… I forgot…_" Kikumaru Eiji sounded awfully sheepish, which a vast difference from the hyper tone he adopted previously.

Tsutano rolled her eyes. _So typical of Eiji-nii…_ "…it's fine. What did you call me for?" She nibbled at her grilled chicken cutlet.

"_Hoi, hoi, I wanted to tell you that I'm picking you up from school later!_" Kikumaru exclaimed, his hyperness returning once more.

"…oh. Why?" She asked, poking around at her steamed vegetables. _Why is it purple…?_

There was some static on the other end, which probably meant that Kikumaru was jumping about, as usual. "_Mou, Eika-nee-chan said that as your dearest neighbour and sempai, I have to bring you out for dinner, since Tsutano-oba-san is working late again._"

She was unfazed by the news; Her mother was always working from very early till very late as a nurse at Kanagawa General Hospital, so she rarely saw her mother. In fact, she was closer to her neighbours, the Kikumarus, than her own mother. "Oh… Don't you have tennis practice today?"

"_Hai… Demo, it's later than usual today, since Tezuka-buchou, Oishi and Fujiko-chan have to go for a meeting of some sort. So I can fetch you to Seigaku, and you can watch me during tennis practice, nya!_" She could practically _hear_ his toothy grin through the line. "_That's okay with you, right?_"

Tsutano sighed, chewing slowly at the vegetables. _Oh… It's steamed cabbage… But _purple_ cabbage? I think I'll have to ask Eika-chan about it later…_ "Even if it's not okay with me, you'll find some way to make me go anyway…"

"_Nya, true, true!_" He laughed jovially. "_I have to go now, I'll see you often school! Try not to get into trouble today with that mouth of yours! Ja~_" He sang out.

"Ja." She flipped her hand-phone shut, effectively ending the call. Eyeing her trusty watch, she mentally cursed as she realized that she only had a bit of time left for lunch-break. She quickly devoured her bento and left for class.

* * *

><p>"Oshitari-sama, I <em>love<em> the way your play the violin!"

"Ootori-sama, your piano skills are _superb_!"

"Oshitari-sama, we love you!"

Tsutano twitched from where she stood leaning against the wall. _Déjà vu, much?_

It was the last class of the day: Music. She was one of the few people who took Advanced Music from Class 2F, and Hiyoshi's worst subject just _had_ to be Music, so she couldn't talk to him instead. Here she was, back in the Music Room, only this time she wasn't alone, and was trying very hard to be invisible among all the arrogant Advanced Music students preening in front of everyone else. It was expected; After all, Hyotei Academy was also infamous for their population of insufferable, snobbish yet talented students.

_Speaking of insufferable__, snobbish yet _talented_ students… Where on this bloody earth is Atobe Keigo?_ Tsutano wondered. He was normally – scratch that, _always_ the centre of attention, and at the moment he didn't seem to be anywhere in the room.

Just as she thought that, the lights went out. A few of the fangirls around Oshitari and Ootori shrieked, making Tsutano roll her eyes. _Wimps…_

Suddenly, a single spotlight hit the mini-stage, where Atobe was standing, the award-winning smirk everyone knew all too well plastered on his face as he declared, "Ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na!"

"Atobe-samaaaaa!" Atobe's fangirls in Advanced Music were… well, _fangirling_ over the sight of their idol (and Tsutano was totally convinced that they were quite literally, _everywhere_). A couple of them even fainted from severe nosebleed.

Tsutano, on the other hand, felt like she was gonna hurl. _What… the… freak… Atobe…_

"Alright, Atobe, I think that's enough for now." Sakaki-sensei announced, sounding half-amused. "Get into your usual groupings and –"

"And let's set to work!" Atobe cut in, flipping his hair and walking elegantly down the steps of the mini-stage, making his fangirls squeal. _How the Hell does he _do_ that without falling flat on his face?_ Tsutano thought in disbelief as she watched.

Shaking her head, she pushed herself away from the wall and stood by the edge of the group of pianists, which included Ootori and Atobe (along with their quite unwanted posse of fangirls).

"Ne, Atobe-sama, what should we do for today's lesson?" A purple-haired girl named Itou Ayume cooed, fluttering her long eyelashes at him flirtatiously. Tsutano felt sick.

"Today Ore-sama has decided that selective people will play an original composition for all of us, and Ore-sama shall critique the piece to help you improve." Atobe replied, tipping his nose upwards regally, making his fangirls squeal yet _again_. As much as Tsutano disliked him, he was the person-in-charge of the pianist group, and his word was, quite evidently, _law_.

_Do they have to gush over _everything_ he does?_ Tsutano was getting pretty irritated, before she paused. _Hold up. They're _fangirls_. Of _course_ they gush over everything he does. Baka Hikari…_

A snooty-looking blonde-haired boy, whose name Tsutano couldn't remember but she knew it sounded like a sneeze, piped up. "Who will be the ones to play a piece, Atobe-sama?"

Atobe waved the air around him dismissively. "Ore-sama will be the one to choose, of course." His fangirls burst into excited chatter, hoping to be selected to impress their love. "Let's start with you, Ootori."

"E-eh?" The 2nd-year squeaked, a blush creeping over his face. "H-hai, Atobe-buchou."

"We're not in tennis practice right now, Ootori, so you should address Ore-sama as Atobe-sempai." Atobe threw a haughty look at his kouhai.

"H-hai, Atobe-sempai." Ootori mumbled quietly as he flipped through his music file and picked out a music sheet. The crowd of piano students hushed as he made his way towards the piano, sat down, and after slight hesitation, began to play.

Tsutano closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side slightly as she listened to his music. It was a soft, gentle piece, almost like ocean waves crashing against the sand at a beach. His playing was goo– _Wait a second…_ She opened her eyes as a small frown creased her forehead, but she continued to listen attentively.

By the end of Ootori's composition, everyone gave him a round of applause, while his fangirls cheered. "We love you, Ootori-sama!" The boy himself flushed and mumbled an, "Arigtou, minna-san…" shyly.

Tsutano, however, was expressionless. She had noted a minor mistake moments ago. It didn't affect the music much, but her ultra-sensitive hearing had picked it up. "That particular bar… He kept playing a G-sharp… It should've been a G-flat…" She muttered under her breath.

"Arn? Did you say something, onna?" Without Tsutano noticing, Atobe had somehow ended up standing next to her, and had overheard.

She twitched. _When did he get there?_ "…iie."

Atobe raised an elegant eyebrow, before replying loud enough for everybody to hear, "Ore-sama is very sure that you mentioned something about Ootori's playing just now. Come on now, say it again, onna."

The girl twitched again. "…I didn't _say_ anything."

He smirked proudly. "Are you in such awe of Ore-sama that you're afraid of telling everyone about it?"

"Iie, I'm not awed by you at all, _A-to-be-san_." She stressed each syllable of his name through gritted teeth.

Cue the collective gasp from the piano group (excluding Ootori and Atobe himself), effectively catching the whole Advanced Music students' attention.

"Did she just _diss_ Atobe?" Oshitari was utterly amused by this turn of events. _No_ _one_ ever dissed _the_ Atobe Keigo, who was well-loved by the Hyotei student body. _No one…_ except Tsutano Hikari, apparently.

Atobe's smirk never wavered. "Alright, so why don't you just tell everyone what you said?"

Her fists were balled by her sides as she glared up at him. _Damn that bastard and his height!_ "…_fine_." She ground out, ignoring the superior look he gave her. "I said… that there was a particular bar… that Ootori-san kept playing wrong…" She muttered grudgingly.

Cue the _second_ collective gasp, this time from _everyone_ in the room (except Atobe, Oshitari and Ootori himself). Ootori Choutarou, the aspiring pianist whose talent was just a bit behind Atobe's, making a mistake? That was totally unheard of!

"Care to elaborate on that, onna?" Atobe asked as he flipped his hair.

Tsutano resisted the urge to punch him. "…Ootori-san played a G-sharp, instead of a G-flat."

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><p><strong>Author'<strong>**s Notes:** I'm wondering if this counts as a cliff-hanger… Oh well. As you can see, Hikari has quite an attitude, and dislikes Atobe a lot, especially the way he behaves.

I know that Eiji is from Seigaku, but I made him her neighbour because I don't believe someone who lives in a nine-people-household is able to live like someone who lives in maybe a three-people-household. Obviously, his family has to have a bit more money, so I guess he lives around the Hyotei area. Why did Eiji go to Seigaku then? That's up to your imagination to decide.

Reviews are welcome. If you don't know any of the Japanese honorifics or phrases I've used, just ask me in a review. Thank you.

.:Iced Hearts:.

_Published: 12th August__ 2011._


	3. Trip to Seigaku

**Author's Notes:** Relatively minor interaction between Ootori and Hikari. This chapter's mostly centred on Kikumaru's and Hikari's rather odd friendship. There are also some scenes with the Seigaku regulars, but again, no romance there.

**Thank you for the:**

**- Reviews:** Sanfina, sockmonkies4ever

**- Alerts:** PurePrincess, sockmonkies4ever

**- Faves:** Sanfina, sockmonkies4ever

_~It'll be appreciated if those who fave and alert Louder leave a review as well. I always review a story I fave, even if the author is no longer active or into that fandom anymore. Thank you.~_

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

She clenched her fists by her sides and glared up at him. _Damn that bastard and his height!_ "…_fine_." She ground out, ignoring the superior look he gave her. "I said… that there was a particular bar… that Ootori-san kept playing wrong…" She muttered grudgingly.

Cue the _second_ collective gasp, this time from _everyone_ in the room (except Atobe, Oshitari and Ootori himself). Ootori Choutarou, the aspiring pianist whose talent was just a bit behind Atobe's, making a mistake? That was totally unheard of!

"Care to elaborate on that, onna?" Atobe asked as he flipped his hair.

Tsutano resisted the urge to punch him. "…Ootori-san played a G-sharp, instead of a G-flat."

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3 –<strong>** Trip to Seigaku**

Ootori blinked at her statement and tentatively went over his composition in his mind. _Hm… The only part where there was a G-sharp was the chorus… And it seems fine… _He furrowed his eyebrows. _What if I put a G-flat like that girl said…?_

He was still standing near the piano, so he reached over to test it out. His expression cleared. _It indeed sounds better… Even though the mistake is very minor… That girl… She's got really good hearing…_

The silver-haired boy stole a glance at the girl, who was frowning at Atobe. She looked like any ordinary Hyotei female student wearing her uniform, which consisted of a white formal shirt, a mid-thigh brown skirt, white socks and dark-brown shoes.

That's when he noticed something. _Wait, she's wearing a tie?_ He took a double-take. _Don't girls normally wear bows instead?_ His brown eyes flittered over to a random girl, and sure enough, that one was wearing a bow. Briefly Ootori wondered if girls wearing ties were allowed, before he decided not to dwell on it and glanced at her again.

He noted that she was rather… _short_, as Atobe was a little over a head taller than her. _If she stood next to me, she would probably look rather small…_ Her cinnamon-brown-coloured hair was gathered up in a high-ponytail, with her long, wispy fringe falling gently into her eyes. Despite the lack of expression on her face, her dark-blue eyes were sparkling with tolerated annoyance as she exchanged banters with Atobe.

At that point, someone accidentally jostled him, making him tune himself back into the current situation.

"You're an arrogant, narcissistic person, Atobe-san… And that's putting it lightly. I would have called you something much, much worse if I wasn't being nice." The girl, whom he still had no idea what her name was, was extremely calm. So calm that it was actually pretty freaky.

"If insulting Ore-sama is considered 'nice', I think you may have to check your level of intelligence, _onna_." Atobe replied coolly, brushing a hand through his hair.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Your level of intelligence can't possibly be any higher than mine if you keep calling me 'onna', Atobe-san."

Everyone watched as Atobe fell silent for a few moments. The girl didn't seem to mind; She merely rolled her eyes and looked down, absorbed in a music sheet she held in her hands.

"Onna."

The brunette didn't acknowledge him, since that wasn't her name in the first place.

"…_onna_." Atobe was next to her again, poking her shoulder to get her attention.

The girl's eye twitched and slowly glanced up. "Is there anything you need, Atobe-san?"

"Hai… Ore-sama would like to know your name." He spared her one of his most charming smiles, which no girl he knew could resist.

Silence ensued as the Advanced Music students anticipated her reply.

"That is for me to know… and _not_ for you to find out." She smirked, seemingly not noticing the jaws dropping around her, including Atobe's.

_Riiiiiing…_

"That's my cue…" She muttered, knowing that Sakaki-sensei let his music students leave whenever they wanted to after the bell rung, so she could get away right then. She swung her backpack over her shoulder and walked towards the door, ignoring the stunned crowd.

Ootori blinked rapidly at her retreating back and started after her, slowly making his way through. When she got past the door-frame, he caught up with her and grasped her arm gently. "C-chotto matte!"

The girl glanced at him, vague curiosity shown on her face. "Hai, Ootori-san?"

"A-ano… Arigatou for pointing out the mistake in my music…" He murmured sheepishly, bowing low to her. "You have really good hearing…"

She blinked, obviously not expecting that. "Oh… It's nothing much…" She began to gently tug her arm away from Ootori. He immediately let go as though he had been burnt, having realized that he had just held a girl's arm, causing a light blush to dust over his face.

"Ne, what's your name?" He asked, tilting his head a bit. If his fangirls were with them, they would have squealed over how _kawaii_ he looked. "I don't wish to call you 'onna' like Atobe-sempai did…"

For the first time since that lesson started, the girl smiled. It was a rather wry smile, but a smile nevertheless. "Watashi no namae wa Tsutano Hikari desu."

He slowly returned the smile, only his was more sincere. "It's nice to finally know your name, Tsutano-san. Ja ne."

"Ja ne, Ootori-san." He watched as she turned on her heel, continued walking and disappeared around the corner.

* * *

><p>"Kari-chaaaaan!" The second Tsutano walked out of Hyotei's front gates, she was immediately pounced upon by her over-active childhood friend.<p>

"Itai!" Her relatively-short legs nearly buckled under the extra weight and she tried to pry the red-headed boy off her. "Eiji-nii, you're not made of feathers, you know!"

Kikumaru shifted his body weight so that it would not rest entirely onto her, but kept his arms wrapped around her shoulders affectionately. He gently steered her in the right direction of his school, which was a thirty-minutes-walk away. "How was school today, nya?"

"Argh…" She groaned, reaching her hands up to massage her temples lightly. "Don't remind me about it. He's _still_ an ass, no matter how _rich_ and _good_ at tennis he is."

A grin slowly spread across the boy's face, knowing exactly who she was referring to. "Hoi, hoi, what did Atobe do now?"

Tsutano recounted what happened during Music lesson just a few moments before, purposely leaving out the part where Ootori stopped her. She was still pretty surprised with that encounter, and had no idea what to make of it.

"_Bwahahaha_!" Kikumaru was laughing so hard that he was actually crying. They were now halfway through a park, which was a short-cut that he had discovered in his 1st year. "Atobe _really_ had a spotlight shining on him on that mini-stage?" When she nodded, he continued, "He's soooo full of himself, ne?"

The smaller girl nodded vigorously, a mockingly-serious expression on her face. "Hai. We should send him to a place where there are no mirrors in it for a full day."

"He won't last for even a _minute_, nya!" Kikumaru snickered, before noticing something off about their current route. _Eh… Where's that pretty row of bushes by the right?_ "Mou, wrong turn, wrong turn! We're supposed to go right!"

For the rest of the journey to Seigaku, Kikumaru told Tsutano about the interesting situations that his team had gotten into that day, such as how Fuji Syuusuke, who was immune to most forms of Inui Juice, had nearly been poisoned by Inui Sadaharu's Aozu, and how Kawamura Takashi destroyed his classroom by accident when a fellow student passed him the tennis racket he left on a bench.

Despite the hilarity of how absurd Kikumaru's team was, Tsutano only let tiny smirks adorn her features. She was not the type to show much emotion in the first place, and it took a lot to get her to laugh, or to even just smile. She was _too_ sensible; It was a quality that derived both admiration and annoyance. There was barely anyone who bothered to look past that cold shell of hers.

Kikumaru often wondered how to get his childhood friend to smile genuinely, and actually _try_ to get to know her better. He decided if there was anyone who could do that, he was definitely something.

* * *

><p>"Nya, we're here~" Kikumaru sang out, bouncing through the front gates of Seishun Gakuen with a wide, childish smile. He tugged onto Tsutano's arm lightly. "Hoi, hoi, Kari-chan, come <em>on<em>! Walk faster!"

"…hai… Eiji-nii… Are you sure I'm allowed to be here right now?" Tsutano asked cautiously, noting the suspicious looks she was getting from other Seigaku students. She was not used to attention; Rather, she often repelled it instead. "Everyone's staring."

The boy grinned at her. "I know, I know! That's why I brought one of your T-shirts and your slippers in my bag for you to change!"

"…Eiji-nii… Did you take them from my house?"

"Hai, hai! Why do you ask?"

"…won't that be considered theft for breaking into my house?"

Kikumaru screeched to a halt instantaneously. "E-e-eh? I never thought of it that way before!" He paused. "Demo… Weren't _you_ the one who gave me your spare house key?" He turned to look at Tsutano with larger-than-usual kitten eyes. "You gave it to me the day before you started elementary school! Remember? _Remember_?" He started to shake the girl by her shoulders in his anxiety.

"Hai, I remember…" She slowly pried his fingers off her. "I was just kidding about the theft thing." She smirked in amusement as she walked ahead of him. "Your reaction was as expected, Eiji-nii."

"Eh? Kari-chaaaaan! Don't _do_ that!" He whined, chasing after the girl. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

* * *

><p>"Best of one set match, Kikumaru-Oishi pair vs Kaidoh-Momoshiro pair…" Tsutano, who was now clad in a slim-fitting light-blue T-shirt, a pair of brown shorts that she wore beneath her skirt and her blue flip-flops, raised her voice ever-so-slightly, but still managed to sound flat all the same.<p>

Perched on the high-chair, the girl had a bored look on her face as she acted as the umpire for that practice match, since Kikumaru forced her to do so. When they were younger, he had taught her the basics and theories of tennis, since the only good quality she possessed was her ultra-sensitive hearing. Other than that, her hand-eye coordination wasn't _exactly_ up to average standards.

"Mou, Kari-chan, don't behave like that…" Kikumaru pouted at his friend's expression, knowing that despite her disinterested look, she was really just sulking on the inside. "I'm sure that our match is gonna be real interesting, ne Oishi?"

"E-eh?" Oishi Syuuchirou blinked at his doubles partner, mildly confused, but just went along with what he said. "Ano… Hai, Eiji…"

Tsutano raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment; Instead, she continued, "Kaidoh-Momoshiro pair service play!"

"Ne, Tsutano-chan, why do you always put _Mamushi's_ name first for the pairing?" Momoshiro Takeshi whined, pointing an accusing finger at the girl. "Do you like that snake-dude more than _me_?"

Before she could reply, Kaidoh Kaoru hissed, "Who would like a baka with a bottomless-pit for a stomach? Fsshhuu…"

"You wanna fight, Mamushi?" Momoshiro challenged, glaring at his eternal rival.

Kaidoh glared back with the same amount of intensity. "I can take you on right here, right now, fsshuu…"

"Oh yeah? Well–"

"_Urusai_!" Both of them jumped at the sound of Tsutano's voice. She had been silently watching the exchange, twitching all the way, but she had enough of their rivalry. After all, there was not _one_ time, _not one time_, when she visited Seigaku and the two did _not_ fight. "The both of you stop this at _once_ before I tell both your fan-clubs that the two of you are in love with each other!"

"G-gomen, Tsutano-chan…" Momoshiro scratched his cheek sheepishly, not wanting to ever experience _that_. Having known the girl since they were 1st-years, he knew that he should take her threats seriously. Hell hath no fury like a Tsutano Hikari scorned indeed.

Kaidoh shot a dark look which said, "This is all _your_ fault and you know it" at the other boy. "Fshh… Gomen, Tsutano-chan…"

Oishi breathed an audible sigh of relief. _At least Hikari-chan knows how to handle them…_

Kikumaru was merely grinning at the spectacle before him like a five-year-old boy on a sugar-high.

* * *

><p>With the possible fight between Momoshiro and Kaidoh warded off, the practice match finally began. It had started off as a light rally, but fifteen minutes later, it turned into an all-out-war between the two pairs.<p>

At that point of time, the match score was 3-All. Just as it was about to be even more heated up, the five of them heard a loud, arrogant voice that rang throughout the courts. "Be awed by Ore-sama's presence!"

Kikumaru, who had been mid-air in Acrobatic Play when that statement was heard, quickly landed on his feet with a barely muted thump, blinking at the newcomers with mild surprise. Oishi was fiddling with the handle of his racket, his worried gaze constantly shifting between the more-rigid-than-usual buchou Tezuka Kunimitsu in the other court and the people who had just arrived.

Kaidoh absently caught the tennis ball in his hand, not noticing that it was getting red after coming into contact with the friction from the spinning ball. Momoshiro raised an eyebrow, in an effort to look nonchalant in the intruders' presence.

In the meantime, whatever expression Tsutano had on her face, even if it was mere boredom, completely dropped. _Oh dear Kami-sama…_

Standing near the entrance were the Hyotei tennis regulars, including a non-regular Taki Haginosuke. The leader of the pack, the only-and-only Atobe Keigo, was standing in front of them with one of his drop-dead-gorgeous smirks gracing his features.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> What's Atobe doing in Seigaku? You'll find out when the next chapter is posted.

Reviews are welcome. If you don't know any of the Japanese honorifics or phrases I've used, just ask me in a review. Thank you.

.:Iced Hearts:.

_Published: 19th August 2011._


	4. School Rivalry

**Author's Notes:** Friction and competitive spirit between Seigaku and Hyotei is fairly prominent in this chapter. Subtle humour sprinkled here and there; Hopefully, you'll find those scenes funny. Hikari and Hiyoshi's friendship is also shown here. As for interaction between Ootori and Hikari… well… you'll just have to read on.

**Thank you for the:**

**- Reviews:** Fadey, Sanfina, Woopa

**- Alerts:** roonaty, totoronii, Baka teme

**- Faves:** -none-

_~It'll be appreciated if those who fave and alert Louder leave a review as well. I always review a story I fave, even if the author is no longer active or into __that fandom anymore. Thank you.~_

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

With the possible fight between Momoshiro and Kaidoh warded off, the practice match finally began. It had started off as a light rally, but fifteen minutes later, it turned into an all-out-war between the two pairs.

At that point of time, the match score was 3-All. Just as it was about to be even more heated up, the five of them heard a loud, arrogant voice that rang throughout the courts. "Be awed by Ore-sama's presence!"

Kikumaru, who had been mid-air in Acrobatic Play when that statement was heard, quickly landed on his feet with a barely muted thump, blinking at the newcomers with mild surprise. Oishi was fiddling with the handle of his racket, his worried gaze constantly shifting between the more-rigid-than-usual buchou Tezuka Kunimitsu in the other court and the people who had just arrived.

Kaidoh absently caught the tennis ball in his hand, not noticing that it was getting red after coming into contact with the friction from the spinning ball. Momoshiro raised an eyebrow, in an effort to look nonchalant in the intruders' presence.

In the meantime, whatever expression Tsutano had on her face completely dropped. _Oh dear Kami-sama…_

Standing near the entrance were the Hyotei tennis regulars, including a non-regular Taki Haginosuke. The leader of the pack, the only-and-only Atobe Keigo, was standing in front of them with one of his drop-dead-gorgeous smirks gracing his features.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4 –<strong>** School Rivalry**

"…what are you doing here?" As expected, Tezuka wasted no time with greetings and got straight to the point, his unwavering gaze pinned onto Atobe.

Atobe raised an eyebrow. "What, not even a hello? How _rude_ of you, Tezuka, especially to a guest like Ore-sama…" He heard the loud cough from Oshitari, and quickly added on, "…and his equally-important teammates."

Shishido and Mukahi snorted, Hiyoshi rolled his eyes while Oshitari smirked with amusement, but none of them commented. Kabaji, Ootori and Taki were merely watching the scene unfold quietly. Akutagawa was thrown over Kabaji's shoulder, sound asleep.

Tezuka merely continued staring at Atobe pointedly, refusing to say anything else, since the latter had not answered his initial question.

Taking the hint, Atobe instantly tossed a haughty look at him. "What else do you _think_ Ore-sama is here for? Ore-sama is here with his team for a practice match with Seigaku, of course!"

"…we never agreed to have a practice match with your team, Atobe." The stoic Seigaku buchou's reply was tinged with barely-detectable annoyance.

The previously-mentioned boy looked downright offended. "You couldn't have possibly expected Ore-sama to have come all the way to Seigaku _twice_ for a simple practice match, could you? You should know by now that Ore-sama is a _very_ busy person!"

Tezuka felt his temples start to pulse steadily as Atobe continued to rant. _Aspirin sounds like a pretty good idea right now…_

* * *

><p>In the midst of the minor case of chaos, Momoshiro and Kaidoh had caused their <em>own<em> form of chaos, having started yet another one of their childish rivalry issues about who was a better tennis player.

Tsutano groaned mentally and quickly hopped off the high chair, digging for the bottle of aspirin she kept in her backpack. The very sight of Atobe made her head spin, and it _wasn't_ because of his prowess. The bickering pair nearby certainly weren't helping her newly-developed headache, either.

Kikumaru bounced over from the court and peered over her shoulder, his sharp eyesight immediately catching sight of the bottle. "Ne, Kari-chan, since when did you have the same bottle of medicine that Tezuka-buchou has in his locker?"

"…with a team like yours, Eiji-nii? I'd say he'd need _more_ than just a bottle…" She muttered, taking a huge gulp of water from her water-bottle to down two pills.

"Nya, what's _that_ supposed to mean?" The red-head pouted at her, before declaring, "We're a perfectly normal, close-knit team of tennis fighters!" He turned back to the court and raised his voice slightly. "Right, Oishi?"

"Hai, hai, Eiji…" His doubles partner murmured distractedly, a perturbed frown worn on his face as he watched Atobe's one-sided argument with Tezuka, whose expression pretty much told everyone that if this was one of his teammates, he would have assigned him a million laps by now.

"See?" Kikumaru turned back to grin widely at his childhood friend, but the grin slipped as he realized she was not standing there with him anymore. "Eh? Where'd she go?"

* * *

><p>"…yo, Tezuka-san." Tsutano called out flatly as she approached him. She carelessly tossed him her bottle of aspirin, and the mildly-bewildered boy caught it out of sheer reflex. "You probably need it…" She muttered, pivoting on her foot and stalking off.<p>

He nodded his silent thanks and turned back to Atobe, whose attention was now trained on the girl. "Arn? Isn't that… _onna_?"

The girl's steps faltered upon hearing that horrid nickname, but she quickly picked up her pace, deciding to ignore him.

Atobe turned back to the Seigaku buchou, his eyebrow raked so high that it practically disappeared into his hairline. "What is such a _rude_ and _insulting_ girl like _her_ doing here at Seigaku?"

"…" Tezuka blinked, not exactly sure what to say. As far as he was concerned, whenever Kikumaru brought his friend to Seigaku, she was almost always silent and barely disturbed anyone.

Of course, _that_ was the moment Kikumaru finally located his dear neighbour, and quickly latched onto her. "_There_ you are, Kari-chan! I was wondering where you escaped to, nya!"

"…_Eiji-nii_. You're _still_ not made of feathers, you know…" Tsutano sighed tiredly. _If my legs don't give way to his damned weight, he'll never stop, will he?_ She halted her movements, lest her legs really _did_ give way.

"Hah! Even if he _were_ made of feathers, he _still_ won't be able to jump higher than me!" Mukahi sneered, since he had never given up on his Acrobatic Rivalry with Kikumaru.

The other boy merely smiled, since his general sweet temper didn't let him get ruffled up by a simple statement. He gently eased himself off his childhood friend, but like always, his arms stayed around her shoulders.

The said childhood friend, however, silently glared at Mukahi with such intensity that the Hyotei boy took a small, uneasy step back and bumped into his doubles partner, who chuckled in amusement.

"…Tezuka-san… Why not you just have the practice match with them? After all, it's just _practice_, ne?" Tsutano's innocent question was laced with dark intent. _They're far too cocky for their own good. Going so low as to insulting Eiji-nii… your _teammate_… You should put them back in their place._

The stoic boy read between the lines and noted her intentions. He fought a silent battle with her through eye contact for a few moments, before he slowly exhaled, relenting. "…fine."

* * *

><p>After a long, overly-heated battle of five practice matches (two doubles matches and three singles matches) between Seigaku and Hyotei, with the former leaving the latter in the dust with three wins to two, the players from both schools were left extremely drained out.<p>

Inui instantly jumped at the chance to promote his Juices to another school, and offered to let them sample his new Special Supplement Juice 2.0, which supposedly helped them regain some of their strength after long matches. Much to his disappointment, he was met with eight very flat-out "_no_"s from his own teammates, while Hyotei politely refused.

Tezuka quickly sent Tsutano, the umpire for all the matches, to buy drinks for all of them from the vending machines. Atobe, not wanting to be left out in _drinks_, of all things, ordered Hiyoshi to go with her, since he had not played any matches as the reserve (much to his dismay).

"Today's been quite an eventful day, ne?" Hiyoshi murmured after a few moments of walking in silence.

"…quite. The tennis players are constantly improving, and today was no exception." Tsutano agreed, before blinking at the surroundings. "Hm… I think the vending machines are over there…?"

Hiyoshi hid a smirk. "You _do_ know where they are located at, right?"

"…of course I do." She replied smoothly, even though both of them knew that her sense of direction wasn't one of the best. Then again, Hiyoshi's sense of direction wasn't any better than hers. "I just have to _remember_ where they are."

The boy snorted. "Uh-huh."

A few wrong turns later, the two seatmates found themselves back where they started.

"…we should've asked your hyper neighbour to come with us… At least _he_ knows where those vending machines are, since he's a student here." Hiyoshi stated dryly, feeling mildly amused despite their current predicament. "Atobe-buchou's going to kill us."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh _please_. Killing you isn't a possibility; You're his teammate and you're still needed for the Nationals. He won't be able to kill me either, since I'd rather jump off a building than let him kill me."

Hiyoshi didn't bother hiding his smirk this time.

They continued wandering around the area, having had their fair share of minor disputes. They were still stuck in the sticky situation they found themselves in, and were unsure of where to head for next, since all they seemed to be doing was to walk around in circles.

"Hey… How about we go that way?" Hiyoshi asked, gesturing towards a path with a row of tall trees on either side.

Tsutano raised an eyebrow at her friend's suggested route. "…didn't we come from that side?"

"…right..." He agreed nonchalantly, before his gaze swept around once more, trying to locate the suddenly-rather-difficult-to-locate vending machines.

* * *

><p>As they shuffled past the washroom, they had quite a mishap. One minute the two were absorbed in another mini-argument, and the next minute, Tsutano found herself sprawled onto the ground with a weight lying on top of her small frame.<p>

"…" The brunette barely managed to suppress the string of curses that sprang up in her mind from escaping her lips. She was certain there was some sort of small bump on her forehead from crashing into… _whatever_ she crashed into.

She blinked the black spots in her line of vision away, and absently noted the silver tint gleaming above her. It looked kinda like hair, and – _Hold it right there._

_Pause... Rewind._

Silver tint. _Hair_.

No one would come to this area near the washrooms, unless you were in the tennis team. Besides, there wasn't anyone among the Seigaku regulars who had silver hair. So that meant…

Tsutano instantly froze and slowly glanced up.

_Oh__. Crap._

She was on the ground… with Ootori Choutarou _lying on top of her_.

It was _then_, Tsutano decided, that Kami-sama certainly knew how to make her life far more difficult than it already was.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>**:** Miniature cliff-hanger (again), I suppose? I'm not really good with this sort of thing…

My End-of-Year examinations are around the corner, so I may not be able to update weekly like I used to. Studies are fairly important, after all. Plus, I'm getting stuck in a jam for Chapter 5… Yes, it's the dreaded disease known as Writers' Block. _Sigh_…

Reviews are welcome. If you don't know any of the Japanese honorifics or phrases I've used, just ask me in a review. Thank you.

.:Iced Hearts:.

_Published: 30th August 2011._


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